


Things You Said: Mio/Ritsu

by AutisticWriter



Series: things you said [6]
Category: K-On!
Genre: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Baking, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Hugs, Implied ableism, Kissing, Love Confessions, Minor Yui/Azusa, One Shot Collection, Pre-Canon, Tainaka Ritsu has ADHD, Tea, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-06-30 07:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15746796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: A collection of one shots written for a prompt list.





	1. things you said at the kitchen table

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1:
> 
> things you said at the kitchen table
> 
> An early morning discussion and a date night.

University is hard work, much harder than Ritsu ever thought it would be. But at least she isn’t doing this alone. She’s at university with her girlfriend, Mio, and two of her best friends, Mugi and Yui. The three of them share an apartment on campus, with their own bedrooms but a shared living area. So she’s pretty much never alone.

Which is fine by her, because Ritsu hates being alone. Being on her own means silence and boredom, not to mention not having any potential help at the task at hand. Yeah, being surrounded by people is the better option.

One morning, she sits at the table in their small kitchen, elbow rested on the table and her chin on her hand, sipping coffee with bleary eyes. The coffee is disgustingly bitter, but she hopes the caffeine will wake her up.

“Uh, I’m so tired!” she whines to no one in particular.

“I never would’ve guessed.”

Ritsu looks up, setting her coffee on the table. Mio stands before her, dressed and preened and ready for a day of lectures and studying, somehow looking wide awake despite it being the hideously early time of 7:30am.

She yawns. “Oh shut up, Mio.”

Mio rolls her eyes. “You’re twenty years old, Ricchan,” she says, using a nickname that Ritsu has been stuck with since she was a kid; to be honest, hearing it makes her smile. “Have you really not adjusted to university life yet?”

“Clearly not,” Ritsu says. She yawns again (why is yawning so damn contagious?), sits up straighter and picks her cup up. “I’ve never been a morning person.”

That makes Mio smile, a small smile quirking at the corners of her lips. “I noticed.”

“I’m a morning person,” Mugi says, wandering into the kitchen. She rummages through the cabinets and starts to brew a pot of tea, all the while looking bright and full of energy. “I love the morning. Everything is so still and quiet and pretty.”

“Yeah, and that’s exactly why I hate the morning,” Ritsu mumbles, forcing herself to take a sip of her now lukewarm coffee. She manages to suppress the grimace the bitterness causes, but Mio still notices, an eyebrow raising. “Mornings suck.”

“Opinion noted,” Mio says.

“Would you like some tea, Mio-chan?” Mugi asks. “I’d ask Ritsu, but she seems to be enjoying her coffee.”

Ritsu’s head snaps up. Is she about to miss out of a delicious Mugi Tea just because she tried to drink coffee to wake herself up?

She gulps down the rest of her coffee and stands up. “No, look, I’ve finished! Can I have some tea too, Mugi-chan?”

Mugi frowns, puzzled. But she still says, “Of course you can.”

Ritsu grins and sits back down, but her smile turns into a glare when she spots the smile on Mio’s face. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Mio says, but she’s desperately trying to hide laughter and the blush that spreads across her face is so adorable.

She laughs, but cuts herself off with a yawn. Still, when Mugi places a cup of tea in front of her, the wonderful smell helps to wake her up a bit.

“Thanks, Mugi!” she says, grinning at her friend.

Mugi smiles, her face going pink. “You’re welcome.”

She joins Ritsu and Mio at the table, all of them sipping their tea.

“If you think you’re not a morning person, then you haven’t met Yui,” Mugi says.

Ritsu and Mio look at each other.

“How do you mean?” Mio asks.

“Because she’s still in bed.”

That makes Ritsu splutter with laughter. “Oh yeah! I was wondering why I hadn’t seen her this morning. Yeah, Yui’s even worse than me.”

“Do you think we should wake her up?” Mio says.

“Yeah, but let’s finish our tea first,” Ritsu says, and Mio rolls her eyes and smiles.

\---

That evening, Ritsu finds herself at the kitchen table yet again. She and Mio are the only ones in the apartment; Yui is out meeting up with Azusa, who has come all this way to see her girlfriend, and Mugi is still at the library. So it makes sense to do something as a couple now they’re alone.

Which is why Ritsu sits at the table and makes a cake, hoping she and Mio can eat it and have some tea over a movie later. She isn’t the neatest baker, explaining why flour and most of the other ingredients are splattered over the table. Still, it looks like it’ll taste nice. Ritsu cracks an egg and adds it to the cake mix, stirring it until it is smooth and smells delicious.

“Ritsu?”

She looks up; Mio is stood in the doorway.

“Oh, hey, Mio,” she says.

“Are you baking?”

“Uh huh.”

Mio sits down opposite her, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you bake anything.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not the best chef,” Ritsu says, gesturing to the table covered with ingredients.

Mio smiles. “I never would’ve guessed. Do you need any help with that?”

Smiling, Ritsu nods, and Mio helps her slop the cake mix into a baking tin. Ritsu shoves it in the oven and then sets about cleaning up the mess she has made.

“Ritsu, why exactly are you baking a cake?” Mio asks.

“I just thought… as we’ve got the place to ourselves for a while, I’d make a cake and we would have tea and cake and watch a movie. Or was that a stupid idea?”

But Mio smiles and reaches across the table to brush some flour out of Ritsu’s hair. “No, it’s a lovely idea.”

Mio gives her a kiss and Ritsu blushes.

\---

At 11pm, Mio and Ritsu have fallen asleep on the couch. Their movie has finished, the home screen playing over and over again on the TV. Half of the cake is left, whilst the tea pot sits empty. They snuggle up together, Mio’s head resting on Ritsu’s shoulder.

And as Yui and Mugi enter the apartment and see this scene, they both smile.

“How cute!” Mugi says, clasping her hands together.

Yui smiles and holds up her cell phone to take a photo. “Azu-nyan will love this.”

And the two of them tiptoe away, leaving the couple snuggled up together, fast asleep.


	2. things you said with no space between us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The development of Ritsu and Mio’s relationship, told through the hugs they share.

5 Years Old

Mio is kind of scared of everything, so being worried about starting school isn’t that much of a surprise. Still, she trembles with fear as she walks into her classroom at her school, ready for her first day at school. She twists a lock of her long, black hair around her finger, hoping she won’t start crying.

Not knowing what to say to the other kids, Mio slips into her designated seat, clasping her hands together. The other kids chatter and giggle, already making friends, something the very introverted Mio has never been good at.

“Hey, your hair’s so pretty!”

A loud, excitable voice startles Mio. She turns her head to see a girl stood in front of her. She grins at Mio, her bangs held back by a really cute headband. But seeing this girl grinning and talking in such a loud voice makes Mio blush, and she just wants to curl up under her desk and vanish.

“Hi, I’m Ritsu!” The girl bows jerkily, stepping closer. “What’s your name?”

Mio looks up at her, her hair flopping forwards to cover her red face. “M-Mio.”

“Oh, hey, Mio-chan. Can I call you Mio-chan?”

Mio nods. “Yeah. That’s fine.”

She doesn’t know how to say it, but she longs for Ritsu to leave her alone.

“Are you okay, Mio-chan. You look really scared. You don’t need to be scared. School’s gonna be fine.”

Why is Ritsu being so friendly? She manages to force a smile, and Ritsu grins.

“There you go! It’s gonna be fine, Mio-chan,” Ritsu says, and before Mio can react Ritsu bends down and wraps her arms around her.

Mio flinches, totally not expecting a hug from a stranger. But she doesn’t pull away, and she finds that Ritsu’s tight embrace is actually kind of comforting.

 

* * *

 

7 Years Old

“Mio-chan!” Ritsu yells, dashing along the sidewalk outside the school as she tries to catch up with Mio.

Her friend stops walking but doesn’t turn around. Ritsu grins and runs up behind her, almost tripping over her shoes in her haste, and clamps her hands on Mio’s shoulders. Mio used to jump when she did this, but now she’s totally used to Ritsu doing this every morning.

“Morning, Mio,” she says, moving to stand in front of Mio, her friend.

Because she and Mio are best friends, inseparable since the moment they met. Yeah, Mio still finds Ritsu annoying in large doses and Mio’s fears about basically everything can be kind of irritating, but they’re both such good friends.

Mio smiles, blushing slightly. “Morning, Ricchan.”

Ritsu grins; when Mio first used that nickname she wanted to cry, instead giggling and hugging Mio tightly.

“How’re you today, Mio?”

Mio shrugs her shoulders. “Um, okay, I guess.”

“Why ‘I guess’?”

Mio sighs, and her voice is tiny as she says, “I’m worried about the Japanese exam today.”

Ritsu stares at her. Mio worries about everything, doesn’t she?

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” Ritsu says. “I mean, you’re way smarter than me, Mio-chan. You’ll pass for sure.”

Mio doesn’t look like she totally believes her, but she smiles slightly. “Thanks, Ricchan.”

And Ritsu wraps her best friend in one of her tight hugs.

 

* * *

 

9 Years Old

When Ritsu wanders into homeroom with her hands in her pockets and her head bowed, Mio knows something is wrong. Ritsu always has a goofy smile on her face, so to see her so down… it’s concerning.

“Are you okay, Ritsu?” Mio asks, getting out of her seat and walking over to her friend.

Ritsu shrugs. “Um… yeah. Look, can, can we talk… later?”

Mio nods; Ritsu must wish to talk to her in private. “Yeah, of course.”

And Ritsu is true to her word. At lunchtime, the two of them sit under their favourite tree beside the playing field, eating their bento in silence. At least, until Ritsu stops eating, folds her arms across her chest and sighs.

“Mio-chan, can we talk now?”

Mio nods, putting down her chopsticks. She fixes her full attention on Ritsu. “Yeah, we can. Is everything okay?”

“N-Not really. Um…. Well, you know how, uh, I can’t focus and my brain’s always on the go and I need to fidget and I can’t control my emotions very well…?”

She nods again; it’s pretty obvious that Ritsu is pretty hyper and has concentration issues.

“Well… the other week Mom dragged me to have a test for something called ADHD, and… I got diagnosed yesterday. But… that’s not the problem, you know? I know my brain’s different to yours and now I know what it’s called, but…”

Ritsu trails off, sighing. Mio has heard of ADHD and knowing her friend has it makes a lot of sense. But what is the problem?

“Um… Mom… she didn’t take it well,” Ritsu says, picking up her chopsticks and twiddling them. “She was kinda hoping it’d come back negative, but… but I’m definitely ADHD. She had a go at the doctor and said I’m never going on meds even if I need them.” She sniffs, but doesn’t cry. “She doesn’t accept me, Mio.”

“Oh, Ricchan, I’m sorry,” Mio says, not knowing what else to say.

Ritsu smiles weakly, her eyes sparkling with barely suppressed tears.

And when she realises she has no real way to comfort her, she shuffles closer and pulls Ritsu into a hug.

 

* * *

 

11 Years Old

Ritsu loves it when Mio comes round her house after school. They always have so much fun, playing video games or trying to bake or just sitting together and watching TV, spending time with each other outside of school. But other times, Mio comes round to help her study.

Which is what they do now, sitting on the bed in Ritsu’s bedroom and reading through study notes for a big English exam. Ritsu has always needed prompting to study, and Mio, her best friend, is usually the one to sit with her to make sure she actually studies and the things she reads stick in her brain.

But it’s so boring, and she can’t stop yawning. In the end, Mio leans over their notes and wraps Ritsu in a hug, which makes her blush so red she pulls away like Mio is burning hot. She doesn’t know why it happens, but Mio smiles and Ritsu finds it easier to concentrate on her studies.

But why did she blush?

 

* * *

 

13 Years Old

Why does she always blush when she and Mio hug? Ritsu has been like this for a few years, but she still doesn’t understand why.

But as she thinks about hugging Mio and her face heats up, it hits her. Does… does she have a crush on Mio?

It takes a lot of thinking and even more blushing, but soon Ritsu has worked it out for definite. She has feelings for Mio – and she wants to tell her. After all, she and Mio tell each other everything. And… she kind of wants to know what Mio thinks too.

So when Mio comes round her house after school and she and Ritsu are sat side by side watching the TV, Ritsu’s heart pounds as she works herself up to saying it.

“Mio-chan?” she says.

Mio looks at her, tilting her head slightly. “Yeah?”

“Um… have you ever had… a crush on someone?”

Her face is burning. Why is this so embarrassing?

It is Mio’s turn to blush, her cheeks turning pink. “Actually, I have. But… why do you ask?”

Ritsu shrugs. “No reason… Well, actually—”

“I know what you’re going to say,” Mio says, smiling.

“Huh?”

“I can read you like a book, Ricchan. You’re… you’re saying the person you have a crush on… is me. Am I right?”

Her ears burn as hot as her face. “Um… yeah. What d’you think?”

“I think…” Mio moves closer and pulls Ritsu into a hug. “I think we’ll make a wonderful couple.”

Ritsu laughs, bouncing her leg as Mio pats her back. She shifts in Mio’s embrace and says, “This is amazing. Hey, Mio… can I kiss you?”

Now Mio turns red rather than pink, but she smiles. “Of course you can.”

And Ritsu grins, leans closer and pecks her lips against Mio’s. And Mio kisses her back.

 

* * *

 

15 Years Old

It is very easy to upset Mio by making her jump, something Ritsu has been known to exploit. But… sometimes she can end up going too far. She’ll make a joke out of something Mio is scared of, expecting Mio to glare at her or whack her over the head, but instead Mio ends up hunched up on the floor, hands clamped over her ears and nearly crying.

And… and seeing her girlfriend in such a state makes her feet awful, so a while later Ritsu wanders over, mumbles an awkward “sorry,” and presses a kiss to Mio’s cheek.

It takes a few hours, but Mio finally smiles at her again (and whacks her over the head).

 

* * *

 

17 Years Old

In the Light Music Club room, Mio and Ritsu slump side by side on the couch. Studying has never failed to drain Ritsu, and helping Ritsu study as well has doing her own work always drains Mio. So they just slouch there, trying not to fall asleep. And Ritsu can’t be the only one who dreads the others arriving, because that means having to practise.

“I’m tired, Mio…” she mumbles, yawning.

“I noticed.”

But as she snuggles closer and closer to Mio, her eyelids droop, and she drifts off to sleep with her arms around Mio and her head resting on Mio’s shoulder…

Only to jerk awake at the sound of Yui and Mugi making squee-ing sounds at how ‘cute they look’, whilst Azusa blushes, not sure what to think. Mio blushes too, but Ritsu bursts out laughing.

 

* * *

 

19 Years Old

Mio lies beside her girlfriend, snuggling up to Ritsu under the blankets. They’ve been at university for over a year, but it still sometimes feels strange to be living away from home, sharing an apartment with her best friends and sharing a bed with her girlfriend. But even though it feels strange, she loves this.

She snuggles closer, wrapping her arms around Ritsu.

“I love you, Ritsu,” she whispers.

Ritsu is half asleep, but she smiles and mumbles, “Love you too.”


End file.
